When Worlds Collide
by FalconHawk
Summary: AU fic. There's no blight, no Grey Wardens, no darkspawn, no Archdemon. Just two people from very different worlds who meet under very bad circumstances. Rated T for some language and a brief situation. M/Cousland F/Mahariel
1. Gideon

"How much farther is it to Gwaren?" Gideon asked as he brought his gelding up alongside his father's war charger.

"Maybe another day's travel." Bryce answered, "Why? Are you getting saddle-sore?

Gideon chuckled, "I've been saddle-sore for a while now."

Bryce laughed as well. "I though you wanted to get out of Highever."

"I did." Gideon answered his father, "And I'm happy that you decided to bring me along… I'm just not used to these long travels."

"Be happy you weren't with the us during the war with Orlais then." Bryce smiled at his son. "We did more running than fighting. A man chooses his battles, and he chooses to fight the battles he can win, and he avoids the rest… Always remember that."

"I will, father." Gid answered. They rode in silence for a few minutes before Gid asked, "Did you fight with Teryn Loghain in the war?"

"Only once. During the Battle of River Dane. I think the entire army was there."

"I see."

"Go check on the men again." Bryce asked. "Just talk to them and make sure they stay loose. You might not be their commander yet, but you are a leader of sorts. It's good for a leader to be seen with his men, builds comradery and trust, and it lets them know that you're one of them, not some high and mighty, spoiled nobleman."

"Yes father." Gideon grinned, he'd made it no secret that he intended to become a commander of Highever's army, or even a general of Ferelden. "Before I do that however, are you expecting trouble?"

"Perhaps." Bryce answered. "We might not be at war with the Dalish, although we're far from being on friendly terms with them, and this forest is their home. This, Brecilian Passage is the only way to get to Gwaren aside from sailing into its port. The elves know that, and have been known to ambush caravans passing through here."

Gid nodded and rode his horse back to the end of the column where he dismounted and began walking his horse, chatting and making small-talk with the soldiers.

There was a sharp _twang_, and one of the soldiers near Gid dropped to the ground, clutching at an arrow now protruding from his side and screaming in pain. "Ambush!" One of the soldiers yelled, "Soldiers, protect the teryn!"

Gideon reached over a shoulder and unsheathed his hand and a half sword, he'd kept his buckler on his arm. Hidden in the woods to the left side of the procession of soldiers and other people, a command was barked in a language Gideon didn't understand, but anticipating another attack, he raised his buckler to protect his face. His intuition paid off, and he felt two arrows bury themselves in the wood of his small shield. All around him the soldiers had likewise taken cover behind their own shields, or behind the supply carts.

There was another command yelled in a foreign language and the woods became alive with battlecries and perhaps twenty elves dashed from cover. Each of the elves was covered in elaborately carved leather armor, or some gleaming material that Gideon did not recognize, each of their faces were tattooed in various patters, and every elf was armed either with a bow, twin daggers, or a curved sword, some carried a combination of weapons. Another thing that Gideon noticed was how the elves had camouflaged themselves, fixing leaves, branches, and even tree bark to their limbs and armor. It was no wonder they hadn't been seen until they charged.

Gideon found himself locked in combat with a blond haired male elf. The elf carried a straight sword unlike the curved blades of the others. The two traded blows back and forth. Gid catching most of the elf's attacks on his buckler or sword, while the elf chose use his superior agility and speed to dodge Gideon's own attacks, then strike while Gideon was off balance.

There was another shouted command in the elves language, and the blond elf, as well as all the others quickly disengaged from whoever they were fighting and sped back into the woods they had come from. Gideon thought of giving chase, but the Brecilian Forest was the home ground for the Dalish, and it was very likely they had another trap planned. Not to mention they were also just too fast for Gideon and his men.

Only a few feet away, one of the Highever soldiers notched an arrow to his own bowstring and let it fly after the retreating elves. The missile found its mark and one of the elven arches, a blacked haired she-elf fell to the ground, clutching at her leg where the arrow had pierced her thigh and screaming in agony. The blond elf that Gideon had been fighting ran to his fallen comrade and knelt by her side, even as the human soldiers started to advance. Gideon could hear them quickly talking back and forth in their strange sounding language. It was clear that the injured elf wanted her friend to leave her, as she kept trying to push him away, but the blond elf was reluctant to leave, he shouted something, then stood up in between his friend and the soldiers, sword ready to strike. The she-elf yelled something at him one more time, and the blond elf finally turned and ran away, back into forest and disappearing from view.

On the ground, the injured elf looked up with terrified green eyes and picked up her bow from where she'd dropped it, notching an arrow and pulling it back to her ear. She didn't fire it however, she only held it, and swung the bow from one soldier to the next. The soldiers were suddenly far more reluctant to advance.

Gideon found that he couldn't help but feel impressed by the elf. She was crippled, and couldn't even stand, but was still defiant.

"Ar tu na'din, shemlen!" She yelled.

The standoff continued for several minutes, and the elf's arms started to quiver from having to hold the bow taught for so long. The soldier noticed this as well, and started to inch closer, shields still raised.

"Wait!" Gideon heard his father yell, and Bryce pushed his way through the ring of soldiers until there was no one left between him and the elf. "Don't do this." He said, keeping his voice soft but firm at the same time. The elf stared at him with pained and scared eyes, Gideon didn't think she'd understood him. "Please…" Bryce continued, "The only way you will make it out of this alive is if you put that bow down."

"Shemlen…" The elf said, hissing the world like it was a curse. "Emma shem'nan!" She swung the bow around to aim it at Bryce and loosed the arrow. Bryce raised his shield almost casually and deflected the arrow. The elf reached for another arrow, but before she could aim and fire, Bryce Cousland had leapt in close and swung out with his shield, the steel kite shield connected with the side of the elf's head and her body fell to the ground, unconscious and twitching violently.


	2. Ennari

The sound of many different voices, and a certain bouncing motion brought her back from the Beyond and into the mortal world again. She wasn't dead. That surprised and confused Ennari. She had thought that if she refused to lay down her weapons and continued to fight, then the wretched shemlen would have no choice but to kill her, and yet here she was… still alive. Ennari tried to reach up and touch her pounding head, but found that her hands were tied, as were her feet. She swore quietly and moved both her hands up to her aching head, only to find that her face and hair were now cached with dried blood. She swore again, louder this time. The human leader had really hit her good with his shield. She only wished that he would have killed her.

Ennari shifted her position and looked around at her surroundings. She was in the shemlen's supply wagon, now half empty. Ennari couldn't help the wolfish grin from spreading across her face. The supply wagon had been their target the whole time. The ambush was just a distraction, with the shemlen's attention drawn to her and her compatriots, it had only taken five elves less than two minutes to run in from the opposite side of the road, climb into the wagon, and take the better part of the supplies. As Ennari shifted her position again she noticed that the dar'misu she kept under her clothing in back was still there. If the shemlen had bothered to search her at all, then they hadn't done a very good job. She tried to twist her body around and get her hands on the dagger.

"Hey, elf!" A gravelly voice called, and Ennari looked out the back of the cart to see an older shemlen scowling at her. "Stop all that moving around! You're making me nervous."

The human carried one arm in a sling, and there was a blood stained bandage around his head. One of her friends had certainly worked him over pretty well. '_Good!_' Ennari thought to herself, then she yelled at the soldier, "Seth'lin!" And spat at him. The glob of spit caught the unsuspecting soldier squarely in his eye, and he swore angrily before climbing up into the back of the wagon.

"Elven bitch!" He yelled, and leaned over to backhand her across the face with a chainmail covered fist.

Ennari very nearly blacked out again, but managed to hold onto consciousness this time. She slightly adjusted her position on her back and brought her bound legs up between the shemlen's legs. The soldier howled in pain and fell out of the wagon. Ennari heard a brief terrified scream and then a snapping sound. She leaned up to peek over the edge of the wagon and smiled at seeing the soldier lying dead in the road, his neck broken and his head twisted at a grotesque, unnatural angle. Ennari spat at him again and yelled, "Sahlin ma nehn!" _Now is the moment of my joy!_

It only took a few more seconds before two more soldiers jumped into the wagon and began to beat her. Before she blacked out again, she thought to herself, '_Maybe they'll do it properly this time and kill me!'_

No such luck however. Ennari woke up again to find that night had fallen, and the wagon she lay in wasn't moving anymore. Every part of her body hurt, and there was something in her mouth. She tried to spit it out, only to find that she couldn't, the shemlen had gagged her this time. '_I wonder if that's to keep me from yelling at them, or to keep me from spitting again?_' Again, she wondered why the damned shemlen hadn't just killed her, and why they could possibly be keeping her alive. '_Maybe they want to question me? Find out where my clan is?_' She hoped that wasn't the case, because if it was, then they were going to be very disappointed, and it was going to be a very long, very painful time for her.

The wooden floorboards of the wagon creaked as someone began to pull their way up into the wagon. Ennari shifted again to see what was happening just as a shemlen man pulled his way inside. She brought her legs up to kick at him, but the shemlen grabbed her ankles and threw her legs back down, then stepped on them to keep from being kicked again.

"I like the fiery ones…" He said. "Makes it more interesting!" In the darkness she could only see his silhouette as the shemlen began to loosen his trousers.

Ennari tried to cry out, but the gag made it only a muffled groan. '_Oh no!... Not that! Oh Elgar'nan, Mythal… Creators, no! Not that, anything but that!_' She squirmed and rolled, and tried to kick at him again, but tied as she was, she was completely helpless. The shemlen lowered himself on top of her, his face so close to her own that she could smell his breathe.

"Yeah, that's right bitch!" The shemlen said, "Go ahead and fight… I like it that way. And it's been awhile since I had me an elf. You do look a bit young… but not too young for-" The shemlen yelled in pain as Ennari swung her body up and smashed her forehead into his nose. "My nose!" He yelled, "You knife-eared bitch, you broke my nose!" He swung a fist around and punched her in the head, then reached up, under her leather armor with one hand while holding her by her throat with the other hand.

"Who broke your nose?" A shemlen voice asked from outside the wagon, and the shemlen on top of her froze. "Caedmon, was that you? Where are you?"

The shemlen didn't answer, didn't even move.

Sensing that it might be her only hope, Ennari cried out as loud as she could manage, the shemlen tensed and pressed down harder on her throat, now he was strangling her.

"Caedmon?" The voice called again, and Ennari felt someone begin to climb up the back of the wagon. "Caedmon, what are you doing back here? What…" The other shemlen saw the one called Caedmon on top of her, it didn't take him long to put the pieces together.

"You bastard!" The new shemlen yelled. "What in Andraste's holy name do you think you're doing?" The shemlen grabbed Caedmon and bodily lifted him up, tossing him out of the wagon, then jumping out after him. Ennari couldn't see what was happening, although she could hear Caedmon's grunts, and the sound of a bare fist slamming into flesh. "Soldiers!" The new shemlen called, and Endrin heard the jingle of metal armor and guessed from the sound that two more shemlen had come. "Take this _bastard_ to my father. Tell him that I will be there shortly and will explain it!"

"Yes, my lord." Two voices answered in unison.

"Nat, come over here, and quickly!" The shemlen called, and a few seconds later she heard him say, "Can you speak elvish?"

"No, of course not." A woman's voice answered.

The shemlen hummed as if thinking, then said, "Alright, fine. Just talk to her, try to keep her calm and help me get her out of the wagon."

The back of the wagon was opened and Ennari felt herself being pulled out. She tried to squirm out of their grasp, and almost succeeded once. All the while, the woman, whoever she was kept on saying things like, "It's okay, my lady." And, "We're not going to hurt you." Or, "Just be calm, you'll be alright." They laid her out on the road, and from the light of a fire burning not too far away, and the light of the moon, Ennari could see their faces a little bit. She recognized the shemlen as the same man that her friend, Tamlen, and fought. The woman was an elf, one of the flat-eared ones who lived in shemlen cities.

"Maker!" The shemlen swore, "What kind of bastard does this to a person?"


	3. Make it Right

"Maker!" Gideon gasped as he looked at the young elf on the ground. He couldn't even recognize her has the same valiant elf who had defied a small army earlier that day. "What kind of bastard does this to a person?" He looked at Natalie, "Have you ever seen anything like this?"

The elven servant shook her head. "No, my lord." Her eyes were wide in horror as she looked from Gideon to the badly brutalized elf. "I've seen beatings all my life, and some of them were pretty bad. But nothing ever came close to this."

Gid stood up, fists clenched at his sides. "Do whatever you can to take care of her. I'm going to go make sure this is dealt with!" And with that said, Gideon stomped away towards the large fire. Most of the men had still been finishing their evening meal when they'd heard him start shouting at Caedmon. All talk, eating, and drinking had ceased when two of the soldiers dragged Caedmon back and deposited him in front of the Teryn Cousland and his two senior officers.

Gideon stomped past the others, coming to a stop next to Caedmon, so angry he was shaking. Gideon was big for an eighteen year old, barely out of his youth, and still not able to grow a proper beard. But Gid was tall and wiry, and he had the strength of character that his father had instilled in him.

"What's going on?" Bryce asked. "That was a lot of shouting, and I doubt Private Caedmon's face got like that on its own."

"I can't even begin to describe…" Gid said. "Come with me, father… I'll show you."

Bryce nodded his agreement and followed his son back to the supply wagon. When they got there, Natalie had their elven prisoner propped up against one of the wagon wheels, had removed the gag, and was gently dabbing at her face with a damp rag. The barely conscious elf would groan when Natalie touched a tender spot, which described almost her entire face.

Bryce and Gid both knelt by the prisoner's side. Her entire face was bruised purple and black, and was bleeding in several places. One eye was swollen shut, the other was only half open. The rest of her body was concealed under various pieces of clothing or leather armor, but Gid imagined that she'd been pulverized all over. "Have you ever seen this kind of savagery?" He asked his father.

"Yes." Bryce answered grimly. "Many times during the war. But never from Fereldan hands."

"What will you do? You surely can't just stand by and let Caedmon get away with this."

Natalie looked up from her delicate work. "It wasn't just him." She said. "When the Dalish Elf here kicked Graves out of the wagon and he broke his neck, two of your soldiers jumped in there and beat her until she was unconscious. I heard one of them say that they thought she was dead. I looked to see, and saw that she was still breathing."

"Can you remember who the soldiers were?" Gideon asked.

"I don't know them." Natalie answered, "But I remember their faces."

"Good." Gideon answered, then turned back to Bryce. "Father?" He asked.

Bryce rubbed his neatly trimmed beard thoughtfully for a moment, then said. "You want to lead men, don't you Gid?"

"I do."

"Then I leave this entire matter in your hands. Make it right, my son." Bryce said, then turned and walked back to the fire.

Gid knelt again by Natalie's side and looked at the young elf again. When he'd seen her right after the ambush, he'd thought she looked even younger than himself. Maybe as young as sixteen. Now her age was impossible to determine. Gid put a hand on the injured elf's shoulder. "Can you hear me?" He asked, and the elf's one working eye widened slightly, although Gideon didn't think she could understand him. "I am so sorry. This should not have happened, I swear to you I'll make it right! I swear it!" Then he looked at Natalie. "Cut her free." He ordered, "I don't think she's in any kind of condition to run anywhere. But just keep an eye on her all the same and let me know if she starts to come around again."

Natalie nodded, "Yes, my lord."

Gideon stood up again and stomped back to the fire. All eyes were on him now. This was his first taste of leadership. "Soldiers!" He yelled. "People of Highever! Never before have I been so appalled and disgusted as I am now! In our very midst, a woman was beaten senseless, nearly to the point of death, and this _worm_ Caedmon then tried to rape her. This is completely unacceptable!

"My father, as ruled Highever with wisdom, and justice, and temperance, as have the Teryns who came before him. And because of that, Highever, and the people of Highever are known for their character and virtue…. But what happened here tonight will forever stain our glorious reputation and Fereldan pride! I will not allow this go unpunished."

Gideon turned his wrathful gaze on Caedmon, then up at the two soldiers who still stood to either side of him. "Strip him of all his armor, his weapons, and any symbol or heraldry of the Couslands or Highever!" The two soldiers quickly did as they were told. Gid addressed the crowd again. "We are not Orlesian bastards! We are not Tevinter slavers. We do not beat our prisoners and rape women! We are Fereldans, we are better than that!" He looked back at Caedmon. "You are discharged from the Highever army, and are exiled from Highever forever! All your belongings are forfeit! Leave now!"

Caedmon stayed where he stood, shock and terror on his face. "But… my lord! The Brecilian Forest… the elves… How will I-"

Gid's hand flew to his hand and half sword and unsheathed it. "Leave! Now!" He yelled.

Caedmon turned and ran into the darkness. Gid knew the would-be rapist was right. He probably wouldn't survive in the forest for very long. And he didn't care. This was justice!

"Now!" Gideon called. "I know that two of you nearly killed the prisoner after Graves fell and broke his neck. As wrong as your actions were, I understand that you were only trying to avenge your fellow solder. Identify yourselves now, and I will show you mercy." Two soldiers slowly came forward, from the looks on their faces they were only trying to avoid the punishment passed on Caedmon. Gideon glared at both of them.

"My lord…" One of them said. "She's just a knife-ear. Her and her people attacked us! They stole our supplies. She killed Graves!"

"Graves attacked her first!" Gid snapped, "A young girl not even old enough to be considered a woman yet, and she was bound hand and foot! For all I can see, it was self-defense. You will both receive ten lashes and be fined half a month's wages for three months!"


	4. Ma Serannas

Ennari looked across the farming fields full of shemlen and their horses toiling away, and at Gwaren. She'd never seen a shemlen city before, and now that she saw one she had no desire to be any closer to it than she already was. The forest was her home, and it always would be.

Her injuries had healed somewhat, largely due to a healing potion that the flat-ear, Natalie, had stolen for her. After she had recovered a bit, her hands had been tied again, although not so cruelly this time, and she was sure that she could have wriggled out of her bonds if she'd been given a few minutes alone, but the shemlen named Gideon or the flat-ear Natalie had always been close by, and she did not feel strong enough to attempt an escape, so she had allowed herself to be carried along in the supply wagon. No one had dared touch her again, except to inspect her injuries, and most of the shemlen gave her a wide berth.

Not Gideon however. Even now, he stood next to her, looking across the fields at the shemlen city. "Gwaren…" He said, "Home of Loghain Mac Tir, one of our greatest heroes."

She only looked at the shemlen and blinked.

"I know… you don't understand me." He sighed. "I really wish we could speak the same language. I'd tell you how much I admire your spirit and courage. And that I wish we could have met somewhere else under more pleasant circumstances."

Ennari only continued to stare at him.

"Okay…" The shemlen sighed, "I'll shut up now. It looks like father is ready to go anyway."

Ennari started to walk back to the supply wagon, but the shemlen grabbed her by the shoulder and turned her to face him. Ennari felt her face twist into a mask of anger.

"It's okay." He said gently, "I'm not going to hurt you… just trust me."

She flinched when he took a knife from his belt, but before she could think to kick him or anything else, he was cutting at her bonds. A few seconds later, the cut rope fell to the ground. Ennari looked at her freed hands, then back at the shemlen with uncomprehending eyes.

"Natalie." He said the name and pointed to where Natalie stood a short distance away, then made motions like he was drawing and firing a bow. "Natalie has your bow and quiver. Take them and go." He pointed back towards the forest. "You're free now."

Ennari sprinted towards Natalie, eagerly taking her weapons back, then ran back to Gideon, who looked surprised that she would bother to come back again. Ennari finally spoke. "Why are you letting me go, Gideon?"

The human nearly jumped out of his skin. "You can talk my language?" He almost yelled.

"Yes." She answered. "All Dalish can. But don't tell anyone that, the less shemlen know about us, the safer we are. So why are you letting me go?"

"Umm…" The human seemed to have lost his train of thought. "When my father first captured you he said that he intended to put you on trial when we arrived at Gwaren. But after what happened on the way here, and everything you were forced to endure, we decided that it would be better just to release you."

"Thank you." She said, "In my language, that is 'ma serannas'."

"Ma serannas?" Gideon repeated.

"Yes… and you are Gideon Cousland?"

"I am."

Ennari turned and started to run towards the forest and her freedom.

"Wait!" Gid called after her. "You didn't tell me your name."

But she didn't stop. Didn't slow. Didn't look over her should. And she didn't answer. She just kept running.


	5. Shemlen Like You

When Gideon, his father, and the other people of Highever returned through the Brecilian Passage a week later, they were all in for a surprise. In the exact place where they Dalish Elves had ambushed them, their crates and boxes of stolen supplies were all stacked neatly in the road. Unopened, and seemingly untouched. Another surprise awaited Gideon at seeing the green eyed elf sitting on top of one of the larger crates, looking patiently at him. As their horses came to a stop, the elf hopped down off the crate and began to walk into the woods to the side of the road, just before she vanished, she looked at Gid in the eye again and motioned with her head for him to follow.

Gideon looked at his father, who said, "Be careful Gid. This could be another ambush."

Gid chuckled, "I doubt it, father. And if it is, then we've already walked into it." He dismounted and followed the elf into the tree line. They didn't go far before the elf stopped walking and turned to look at him.

"Did you tell anyone that I can speak your language?" She asked.

"No." Gid answered. When she'd spoken to him before he hadn't noticed her accent as he'd been too shocked. He couldn't compare her accent to any he'd ever heard before, but it was beautiful, almost poetic sounding how the words flowed from her lips. And now that the swelling and bruising had left her face, he truly noticed the tattoo that boldly stood out against her fair skin.

"Ma serannas. We Dalish repay kindness with kindness. So I saw to it that your supplies were returned exactly as they were when they were taken from you."

"Ma serannas." Gid repeated.

The young elf stared into his eyes, and Gideon was nothing short of stunned by the intense green her eyes shone with, or how they seemed to look past his skin, and into his very being. Like she could read everything about him with a mere glance. Then she reached behind her neck and detached a necklace of wooden beads. Each bead carved to the shape of a forest animal, bears, wolves, foxes, hawks, hares, and so on. "That is for your Natalie, for her kindness." She reached behind her back and produced the dagger than she always kept hidden under her shirt, the shemlen had never found it. "And that is for you, for your kindness."

The elf turned without another word and began to walk away from him, deeper into the forest, leaving him staring at the necklace and dagger in his hands with a dumbfounded expression on his face.

"Wait!" He called after her, and this time the elf turned and looked at him. "You never told me your name. What is it?"

The elf smiled for the first time since Gid had seen her, and it was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. "My name is Ennari Mahariel. Sabrae Clan."

"Ennari… Sabrae Clan." Gid repeated, then called out, "May I call you 'friend'?"

Ennari smiled again and answered, "You may. For you are my friend as well. In my language you would call me 'lethallan', and I would call you 'lethallin'. If we never meet again, Gideon Cousland, know that you will always be lethallin to me. And know that I will tell my people of shemlen like you." Ennari raised a hand in farewell. "Dareth shiral." She called, "It means, 'safe journey'."

"Dareth shiral." Gideon called back.

Ennari grinned happily at him, one last time. Then she turned and disappeared into the forest.


End file.
